My translation of the 1990s Cuban sci-fi space opera, A Planet for Rent, keeps getting more reviews. A couple of them have even mentioned that the book was written in a language other than English! (Translator’s joke.)
The last two reviews of the book are especially gratifying. Scott Beauchamp, reviewing the book for Asymptote, not only gives it the finest-grained reading I have seen in any review yet, he also notes that it was (ahem) “vivaciously translated by David Frye.” Vivaciously! I don’t get that every day.
And today, writing in SF Book Reviews, Antony Jones has this to say:
It’s wildly inventive, imaginative fiction, with a real edge to the writing — there is an energy to the prose that is almost tangible and to get all this through a translation is nothing short of remarkable. It’s great to be able to finally see fiction from other cultures without the language barrier … A Planet for Rent is a window into a different world in many respects. It’s bold, beautiful, brash and bizarre but above all its science fiction at its best.
Nice.
UPDATE: More reviews… And, now available as an audiobook from Audible!
A Planet for Rent continues to attract reviews! My favorite (i.e. the most glowing) among the new crop is from Words without Borders, “Yoss’s A Planet for Rent“.
The short take on Yoss in this longer review of various works is also nice: “Science Fiction in Translation.”
